Back to Muse

I've played in several bands over the past eight years, and in almost every one of those bands I have played a show or two or ten at the Muse Music Cafe in downtown Provo, UT.

One of the moments I've remembered the most about that venue was playing a show in a metal band called Tamarack.  The band was established by a friend and neighbor of mine, Brady Bills.  I wasn't actually in his band at first, but one day there was a knock at my door and I answered it to find him and his dad holding a CD.

Brady told me that he had a huge favor to ask.  He had a show scheduled at Muse, but his bassist in his band had a bought of stage fright and decided that he didn't want to play shows and abruptly quit.  He asked if there was any way that I could fill in and play for them.  My previous band had parted ways not too long before that, and I was leaving on my mission in the coming weeks, so I agreed to jump on.  He was super excited, and promptly handed me the CD and told me that it had all the songs we would be playing but that some of them did not have bass lines recorded so I would need to come up with my own. He also told me that the show was in two days. 

It was an interesting experience trying to get the songs down pat, and to write new parts for a few of them.  But I sat in front of my computer, bass in hand, for a few hours and managed to get pretty solid. 

We had one late night rehearsal, and then it was off to the show.  Although I didn't have much playing time with those guys under my belt, I feel like we did very well, and it was really fun to play a style of music that wasn't my norm.  

Over the years after my mission, between Formerly So and Goodnight Annabelle, I've played at Muse probably over a dozen times.  Have I ever played larger venues?  Yes.  Have I ever played venues with a better sound system or a nicer stage?  Yes.  But at the same time I enjoy playing at Muse because of its intimate feel and because it is in the heart of Provo. 

Over the last nine months or so, we have played shows across the far reaches of Utah.  We had the great privilege of opening for Mayday Parade in Richfield, near the small town of Annabella, where our band got its namesake.  We also had the opportunity to play at the UBIC (Uintah Basin in Celebration) 2013 event in Roosevelt.

While those shows were amazing, I would by lying if I said that I didn't miss playing in Utah county, especially as that is where most of our fanbase resides. 

So I am very excited to say that Goodnight Annabelle will be playing at Muse Music Cafe tonight for the Helping Houston benefit event.  The doors open at 8pm and we are the first band on the bill, so we will be going on at 8:30pm.  I'm very excited and can't wait to show everyone the new songs we've been working so hard on over the past year.

 

GR33N SHOW!

After we placed first in the first wave of the Rock the River battle of the bands competition, the band and I have been working nonstop to really take to heart the advice that was given to us by the judges, especially because it was advice that we were planning on taking soon anyway.

Which advice am I referring to?  The advice that we really need to (1) decide on a logo/branding for the band, (2) define a band image, and (3) figure out a wardrobe that both unified us as a band yet allowed us to be individuals at the same time.

Believe me when I say that we spent hours and hours working on these together.  Goodnight Annabelle is unique in that band business doesn't just take place when we're all together in one place, but never really stops.  Throughout the week, we send out dozens of different emails to each other, going over branding ideas, creating and deciding on logo and other image designs, writing lyrics, and cover loads of other topics.  We even record and upload music that we write while by ourselves so that the band can listen and add to it so that we can incorporate the ideas during our normal jam sessions.

Over the past few weeks we have accumulated dozens of different logo designs, and after going over all of our options, we finally decided on a couple of variations.

This goal coincided with another project that Byron and I were working on, together with Adam Boyd (my old band Formerly So's sound technician and a very talented graphics designer), to build a sound-activated LED system into the kick drum that would correspond with our music during live sets.  This idea spawned from my cousin Ty Jensen's drum set, which had a white strobe light that flashed according to the bass hits, back when he was in the band New Holland.  He now films music videos for a living in LA, and actually directed my old band's music video.

Many hours were spent researching how best to go about this and a lot of time was wasted in custom wiring jobs before we were able to get it right, but in the end it turned out perfect.  Adam even took a simplified version of our logo and created for us a custom vinyl decal to place on the drum head for the light to shine through.  Also, being the stud that he is, Adam also crafted several similar decals for us to give to fans, and also gave me a decal that I was able to place on my bass amp which matches the drums.



For those of you who may think the name Adam Boyd sounds familiar, this is because it is the same Adam Boyd who recently designed a custom bass guitar for me, which I am in the process of completing by adding electronics, a fretboard, etc.  I hope to get it up and running soon so that I can start using it in performances.

The drum head project turned out so well that, as we deliberated together on how to best unify our appearance, we decided that it would be awesome if we actually used a color-themed image.  We decided to take three neon colors and use those to define the band image, both on stage and in our web presence.

In terms of show apparel, we decided that we would all wear mostly blacks and/or grays, but each with an emphasized article using the color that we had chosen for that day, as we hoped to have shows in which we have different colors at the forefront.  For example, one show would be a "green" show where we would all wear green, another would be a "pink" show, and so forth.

We decided that the Provo Block Party II show with Allred would be our moment to put to the test our little concept.  The number of emails back and forth flared up again as we all scrounged to find the clothing and other items that we needed before the show.  But we also decided to add another piece to the puzzle:  Team GnA

The support that we receive from our fans is simply astounding.  That was one of the first things I noticed when I joined the band, was how dedicated the fanbase was.  So we decided that it was finally time that GnA got its own street team.  First, a Facebook group was created called Friends of GnA, in which anyone could be invited that wanted to.  We posed the question to them of whether or not they wanted to actively help us to promote our shows and help us in developing our band ideas and were shocked at how many instantly wanted to take part.

We had so many requests to play part that Sam was forced to create somewhat of an application form so that we could divide the participation into different tiers:  One overall team, broken down into smaller geographical teams, and the Friends of GnA group for those that wanted to help but didn't have the means to really take an active role as much as the others.

Team GnA was a huge success and continues to be.  As we prepared for the Block Party show, we tried to involve the team as much as possible, and they really stepped up to the plate and exceeded every one of our expectations.  They helped us promote and get people excited for the show, they collaborated with one another, and they even helped hand out swag during the show itself.

The day of the show was pretty exhausting, but was extremely fun.  I work up at EMC in Draper and my shift ends at 5pm, which meant that I put the "rush" in "rush hour" to get to  Sam's house by 5:30, giving us enough time to run through our set and pack our gear before leaving for the show.  And then it started to rain....hard.

Hoping for the best, we loaded up our gear--which was a lot easier than past shows because Jason was able to borrow his in-laws' large van to haul our equipment without getting it all wet--and drove to Provo.  I admit that I began to panic slightly when I saw that the Alpine Village courtyard, where the show was to take place, was empty.  However, we soon found out that the show had been moved inside of Me Crepes, where they had a mid-sized venue.

I actually preferred the show being inside, mainly because the acoustics of the room helped us to hear ourselves a bit better, but also because we would be able to play more to our lighting effects.  Before we went onstage, members of Team GnA handed out neon green glowstick bracelets, and we switched the lighting in the drum head to be a matching green.  As soon as our first song of the night, entitled "How to Control Me," began to play, the lighting was switched to change according to the music.

Overall it was an extremely fun show to play.  The room was filled with energetic fans that sang along to our songs and danced to the music, and we were even able to perform a song that we had written only days before entitled "Dare to Dream," which was such a hit that we plan on playing it at the semi-finals of the Rock the River competition.



We did have our share of snags as well that night, but it still worked out great, all things considered.  We realized when we arrived that the venue did not provide enough cables nor sufficient AC jacks for our instruments, but we were able to eventually get things sorted and ready to go.  Also, most probably don't know this, but Mike--our lead guitarist--was actually very ill the night of our show, and yet he didn't let it show at all during the performance, which makes him a hero in my book.

So, long story short, the Provo Block Party II show was insanely fun to play, and I think our fans had almost as much fun as we did that night.  I am so excited to hit our next show, and even more excited to get into the recording studio in a couple of months to lay down our new tracks so that we can release our new music by the end of the year.

Richfield Roadtrip

Last Saturday, my band Goodnight Annabelle had the unique opportunity to play at a benefit show in Richfield, Utah.  The show was to assist Jaren Barney, a young man who was recently diagnosed with a rare liver disease very shortly after receiving an LDS mission call.

This show was a very neat experience, as it allowed the band to revisit its roots, with Richfield being only minutes away from Annabelle, the small town from which the band got its name.  Although I didn't know anybody down there, it was still nice to be a part of the reunion.

The band met up around 1pm to pack up to leave for the show.  This show was to be different from others that we have played, namely because we would essentially be constructing the stage using our own PA equipment.  We packed up everything that we had, including a tiny PA system that I had purchased over six years ago, which we were able to use as monitors for the stage.

It took several vehicles for us to make it down there, and I rode down with Jason--the band's keyboardist--and his wife Aubrey.  It was a fun ride, with Jason and I being able to discuss several musical ideas and concepts along the way.  Byron and Sam, who also rode together, had an equally productive journey, having brainstormed quite a bit about different logo and band image concepts that we were able to discuss after the show.

It took much longer than expected to prepare the stage, but had a lot of help from the other band that shared the stage with us, Chasing Chance.  We combined equipment and were able to daisy-chain the amps to create a very full, dual-channel sound to fill the area...which was a good thing because we had to compete against a pretty strong wind.

First on the stage was Shay Markham, a seventeen-year-old musician from Provo.  This was her first large gig, but she did amazing and everyone was extremely impressed.  Even with the wind blowing in her face, she was able to do a wonderful job on all of her songs.

Next on stage was Chasing Chance, a band whose members were friends with members from my band.  This band was just recently formed, all of its members having recently returned from LDS missions, but they blew me away at how talented they were.  They put on a spectacular show and I was sad to see it end.

Finally our time had come and we were able to take the stage.  We played a full set of about eight songs, beginning--as has been the recent tradition--with our new song "How To Control Me," which is always a fun song with which to begin a show, as it brings a lot of energy with it.

We also had the chance to invite Shay back on stage to sing our original "Fight What They Say" with us, which turned out great, as you can see in the currently-unreleased video below:



We ended our set with tow of our most popular songs, "Stay" and "Memorable," which can both be found on our newest EP called "Just a Memory" and had some great crowd participation.  We love ending our sets with "Memorable," which has become another GNA tradition, and it definitely did not disappoint that night either.



Even though it was such a long drive to and from the event, and despite all of the heavy lifting and time that it took to set up and tear down the stage, it was still a very fun show and it was great to know that we were helping out and contributing to the best of our abilities to such a wonderful cause.

The Guest Star

Well, in about ten minutes I will be leaving to play a show that is unlike any other that I've played: We will be traveling down to Richfield, UT, to play in a benefit show for Jaren Barney, a young man who was recently diagnosed with a rare liver disease very soon after receiving a mission call.

Although I've played several benefit shows, this will be the first in which we will have a guest performer singing with the band.  This past Wednesday, we asked Shay Markham (who will also be performing that night) to join us at band practice so that she could sing along with Sam at the show during one of our songs.



Shay is extremely talented and I am very excited for tonight!  It is going to be such a fun show, and for such a worthy cause!

Rocking the Riverwoods (Musical Rebound)

After my old band Formerly So broke up in early 2011, I wondered if I would ever have the chance to play in a music group again.  Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I loved the time that I spent playing in bands.  As I have mentioned several times before in past blog posts, I find that music and performing in shows is my "out," where I can completely be myself.

After the band broke up, my friend--and Formerly So's vocalist Brayden Green--and I got together with his cousin Andrew in an attempt to write some music and perhaps one day be able to perform again.  Shortly after, Jason Stapleton, Formerly So's old keyboardist and one of my best friends, returned from an LDS mission to Romania and he joined us in music writing.

Unfortunately, the dream never came to fruition as schedules and other conflicts got in the way of being able to accomplish much in terms of music, and the project coasted to a stop.

I continued to play my bass and acoustic guitar to my iPod by myself, not wanting to give up the talent completely, and met together with Jason a few times after work (both of us working as web developers at a web hosting company in Orem).  I even kept an eye on CraigsList, hoping to find another musical opportunity that I could join in on.

That day eventually came when I saw an ad for a band that I had heard of called Goodnight Annabelle, who was in need of a bassist.  I contacted them via email, and immediately bought all three of their albums on iTunes and learned to play most of the songs.

I heard back from the band about a month later, and they asked me if I would like to audition with them.  While speaking with Byron, the guitarist, he also asked if I knew anyone who knew how to play the keyboards, as they were looking to find a keyboardist as well.  Lucky for him, I happened to be sitting in the cubicle next to Jason at the time, who was more than excited at the chance to practice with them.  We auditioned together that very night, and became the newest members of the band.

I was so lucky to find such an awesome band, and one that is already so well established and has such a large fanbase.  The members of the band are great people and so much fun to spend time with, and we have accomplished a lot together in the short time that Jason and I have been with them.

One of those accomplishments took place last Saturday, when we were able to participate in the Rock the River 2012 Battle of the Bands.  The competition, which is still underway until the end of July, took place at the gazebo in front of the Tucanos restaurant in Provo, UT.

This was a competition unlike any that I have experienced.  I have participated in several Battle of the Band competitions in the past few years, Formerly So even placing first in the College of Eastern Utah Battle of the Bands competition a few years ago, but this was the first contest that actually had a panel of celebrity judges that would watch and critique each band's performance.

The judges of our wave of the competition were Chunga from 101.9 The Edge, Amy from The Whits, and Ryan Innes as the guest judge.  Hearing the rather blunt comments and critiques from the judges on the two bands that played previous to us, we were more than a bit nervous to hit the stage.  However, when we took the stage and were greeted by so many cheers of fans that came from all over, our fear melted away and soon became one of the most memorable shows that I have ever played in my life.

We were utterly amazed at how many people came to see us...especially those that came for the band in general just as fans, having no connection to any one member of the band (i.e. family member, friend, etc.).  In fact, we even had the opportunity to hang out with several of the fans before and after the show, which was a super cool experience.

After our set and some deliberation from the judges, we were shocked to find that we were announced the winners of this wave of the competition.  While we were given some constructive criticism from the judges that we all took to heart, they were very impressed with our music and genuinely seemed to believe that we have a bright future with our band.

After the competition had ended for the night, we were actually able to hang out with the judges for a little while, and were given some great advice on how to improve as a band on many different levels.  The advice was priceless, and we have been working on everything they told us from that point forward, and are very pleased with the changes.  The judges were really great people.

This has been such an awesome experience for me to be playing in a band again, and especially to have found the perfect band for me: one in which each member has become one of my closest friends, where I am able to play in the same band as my pal Jason, where everyone is equally motivated in moving the band forward, and where I truly see myself going places musically.

I can't wait to see what my musical future has in store for me.